IVxIV

I'm using Cachemate in my (Palm OS) Treo 650 & it works perfectly Not much pro-or-con of using cachemante on a smartphone versus a straight PDA, except for the fact a smartphone is probably going to be more expensive, and you should be more careful not to damage it with outdoor use. Otherwise, a PDA is a PDA

I see the incorporation of traffic congestion, accident scene avoidance & construction detour alerts to be the next large scale "natural progression" to be for any GPSr that has road mapping on it, be it a car based model or even a handheld unit. Not sure how a "small" handheld is going to do that easily, but perhaps some sort of bluetooth link to the car. That'd be GREAT to not only have my handheld GPSr tell me exactly how to drive to my destination, but also vary the travel path based on realtime congestion issues.

I don't believe any portion of the "detailed map" that is visible on a cache webpage is included in the downloaded GPX pocket query if that's what you mean.. If I need to see aerial detail of a location I use the free Google maps plugin on my Palm Treo 650. The maps are free, but you need a wireless data connection for it to work.

Cachemate on Palm can do that too. When you're viewing a cache just click "record => Nearest Caches", and the sort screen pops up with the current caches coordinates, ready to sort all your other stored caches from your current location. Or just use the "/E" Palm shortcut & you're done

Just out of friendly curiosity, I'd like to hear what sorts of tasks a PPC can do that a Palm can't. No need to mention a specific piece of software that's only available for PPC,, because there might be another software that Palm does have available that will perform the same function so just list the tasks themselves.

I guess I'm biased too,, for Palm based PDA's Personally I think a Palm PDA is a better choice especially if you're using the PDA only for Geocaching. PPC's work great too expecially if you already have one then of course use it, but if you're buying one only for Geocaching then PPC's generally are larger and are harder on batteries. I don't think there is anything a PPC can do that a Palm can't, and visa-versa, as far as primary usage for Geocaching, and both can be had used for pretty cheap.

I have the Vista Cx.. I could care less for the altimiter, but the compass I find very useful, and gladly pay a few extra $'s so as to not have to hold a mechanical compass in a separate hand. Having said that, I still DO carry a mechanical compass in my caching kit lol One thing with the Cx's compass though,, you have to hold the unit absolutely level for it to read correctly, and it doesn't warn you if you're holding it off-angle,, sometimes frustrating!

I've had my Cx for about a year, and yep the rubber band is starting to lift loose around the top-left zoom buttons Add to the Etrex wish list:: a VOLUME CONTROL!! I can barely hear the thing beep!

How long has it been since it did work? Has it ever worked?? Yes put in some fresh batteries & set it outside "clear view of whole sky" for at least 30 minutes. If by then it hasn't found a single satellite then it probably has something wrong with it...

I've been using a Garmin Vista Cx for about a year & LOVE it! But when my girlfriend recently wanted to get a GPS of her own I searched around for best prices & found what seemed to be a great deal on a Magellan Explorist 500LE. I didn't know much about the Explorist but assumed it would be as-good-if-not-better than my Vista Cx because it is a much newer model & the specs seem fairly comparable.. ..boy was I wrong! Wow the 500LE was a huge pain. Satellite aquisition took way longer, "new" batteries would be all used up in 5-6 hours, NO auto-rerouting drove us NUTS, and the thing would lock up constantly & wouldn't remember option settings.. We called Magellan a COUPLE of times to determine if this unit was defective, and got quite the runaround from them. Finally they agreed there might be a problem so we're sending it in. However, as SOON as it gets returned it's going straight to eBay! ..I'm suggesting she look into a Garmin Vista HCx or 60CSx as her next GPSr

I'm using my Treo 650 smartphone (Palm OS) along with cachemate.. an effective combo PPC's are good too, if you already have one. If you're buying a PDA *just* for the purpose of Geocaching then I'd personally suggest choosing a Palm based model, as they're comparably cheaper & easier on batteries than a similar PPC

You've got the right idea about seeking out a nice cheap GPS as a starter unit. Older models won't have stuff like WAAS on them but that's OK because WAAS doesn't usually work under heavy tree cover anyway lol

A nice writeup in the Canadian press http://travel.canoe.ca/Travel/TipsTrends/T...4370594-cp.html

I too have a question in the similar topic. I've been fiddling with a friends Explorist 500 LE & trying to learn it's features.. She has the Directroute V3 (she waited 2 weeks for it to show up!!) and the routing function seems to work well. But... if you veer off the intended course the unit doesn't appear to automatically "re-route" a new course for you.. I need to constantly have to manually make it recalculate a corrected route.. This is frustrating! Is there an option somewhere that will make it auto re-route (like my Garmin Vista Cx does!)

What brand/model SD card are you trying? Some SD cards run at different speeds and the one you're trying might be incompatible with your GPSr(?)

I'd be careful "adding" a lanyard loop to a Nuvi, or even an iQue.. Having one would imply wearing the thing looped from your neck, or carried dangling from your hand, and those would no doubt wind up having the GPSr bouncing around a bit & bumping into other things (yourself, your belt, etc) Touchscreens don't take well to being smacked against other stuff..

It also seems to me that "wet leaves" (after a rain or morning dew) have more effect than dry leaves when it comes to signal aquisition. And (I guess obviously lol) "no leaves" in winter makes for better signals!

What operating system are you using?

Well I found out with my digital camera that if I want to record videos and not "drop frames" then I needed to buy high-speed memory for it so, perhaps it's worth a shot to upgrade the chip in your GPSr for improved performance. The old saying "you get what you pay for" probably holds true if you buy cheap (slow) memory. Also I wonder if memory cards benefit from a defragmentation like a traditional hard disk does?

I use the Garmin handlebar mount on my streetbike to hold my Vista Cx and it works perfectly. A solid lock when it's attached, yet the GPSr comes off in a split second (quick release) when you want it off. And, when the GPSr is not attached, the piece that stays on the handlebar is very small, almost un-noticable. RAM mounts are great & versitile, but that's one thing I don't like about them. Even when they're NOT holding a device they're still bulky & a bit too obvious

Isn't the 330 waterproof? I've got an old 315 which is basically the same unit except no mapping.. and beiieve it is waterproof(?) As for what to buy for an upgrade,, what features are important to you? What do you want your new GPS to do? Bear in mind that, surprisingly, despite your 330 is fairly old, newer GPSr's havent lept-&-bounded in improved accuracy.. Except for things like WAAS (which doesn't work much in the woods anyway lol) and <12 channel receivers (again a subjective issue.. does it help?)

Wow a lot of unhappy Cx customers I'm trying out a Vista Cx and, with limited use so far it does seem to be working OK. However, I can't honestly say it's any more accurate than my last GPSr (Lowrance iFinder Pro) I bought 4 years ago..

Why would you want a semi-permanent in dash GPSr when an on-dash automotive unit works just as well, and remains mobile for use in whatever car you want?

I guess some people won't be happy until the day comes when our GPSr's are connected 24/7 to a wireless update network for up-to-the-minute road & construction status. Don't laugh because that probably will happen & sooner than you think. Personally I'd love it if my machine could autoroute me around an accident event that happened 15 minutes ago up the road from where I would be travelling

I ordered Garmin's City Navigator v8 software from them, and was very frustrating! I ordered on a Friday so didn't expect any real response till the following week. Monday/Tuesday my request went into backorder status which I guess I can't fault THEM if their inventory ran out. Frustrating yes, but what can you do? But by Thursday I was getting mad waiting for the status to change so I called them to find out what's up. The guy I spoke to said to me "good news the product has arrived today & will be shipped out promptly". Great I though, except the next day (Friday) my shipment status still hasn't changed! The following week it still stayed in backordered status until about Wednesday when it finally got shipped. I received the software Friday morning, 2 full weeks from when I ordered it. Again, I can't directly fault them if they run out of inventory, but is frustrating to hear/see others already using the product while I wait. My biggest gripe is with that support guy telling me the product has arrived when in fact it hasn't. I believe he was just saying whatever he needed to say to avoid me cancelling my order out of frustration. Sorry for the long rant. I feel better now lol